


Baby names

by SilverWield



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27134953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverWield/pseuds/SilverWield
Summary: Cloud and Tifa expand their family.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	Baby names

"Well, now, there's a figure I ain't seen in a long while. How you been?"  
Cloud half-turned at the familiar voice, brows drawn and scowl in place. His expression cleared when he recognised the speaker, and he nodded in greeting. "Sam." He crossed the street, keeping a tight hold on his bag of groceries and sending a glance over his shoulder to indicate where he was going. "Things are good, thanks. You?"  
Sam shrugged. "Well as can be expected, all things considered."  
Cloud's brow quirked. "That's bullshit," he replied in an amused tone. "With the way fuel's running out you must be raking in the business." He had a dwindling supply for fenrir, but sooner or later even that would be gone. The planet was healing and people were finding more natural ways to live. Strife Delivery would eventually have to adapt too. _But not yet._  
Sam slotted his thumbs through the loops on his jeans and laughed. "You got me there." The intervening ten years since Cloud last saw Sam were fairly kind to him. With greying hair and a slight paunch, he still carried himself with that reckless air every hardened gambler had. Looking around, Sam gestured at Cloud's groceries and said, "Y'all out with your lady friend? Strange seeing you lookin' all domesticated."  
Cloud shook his head and glanced to his right as a couple of boys came running up. "Did you get it?"  
The elder one nodded and held up a bag of dumb apples. "Did I get enough, dad?"  
Sam's brows shot up. "Well now, that's unexpected." He frowned at the gangly teenager with messy brown hair and a broad smile. "Is my math wrong?"  
Cloud scoffed. "Probably." He put his hand on his son's shoulder. "This is Denzel." He pulled the younger boy to stand in front of him. "And this is Zack."  
Sam's keen gaze swept over a six year old with black hair and blue eyes. "Looks like his mother," he said at last, looking up and smirking at Cloud. "Said you'd be ridin' to her rescue."  
"Yeah, I'm a real Prince," Cloud said in a dry tone.  
Zack tugged on Cloud's wrist. "Be nice."  
Denzel smothered a laugh. "We should get back before mom's craving makes her eat the bar."  
Cloud smothered a chuckle and nodded.  
Sam smirked. "Expectin', is she?" At Cloud's nod, he added, "Congratulations."  
Raising a hand to the back of his head, Cloud looked bashful, but smug, as he replied, "Thanks."  
"Nice little family you've got."  
"We got sisters, too," Zack said, then pulled a face. "I want the baby to be a boy, so there's more of us."  
Cloud ruffled Zack's hair. "Girls aren't so bad."  
Sam looked at Cloud like he was staring at a stranger. "You really Cloud? What, you running an orphanage or something?"  
Denzel and Cloud looked amused.  
"More like mom collects kids."  
"Hey, you're one of those kids."  
"I'm not a kid anymore." Denzel folded his arms and tried to look tough.  
Sam laughed. "You look as much a runt as this one used to." He pointed at Cloud and grinned.  
Cloud rolled his eyes and tightened his hold on the groceries in his arm. "Runt who saved the planet twice," he muttered in a petulant voice.  
Zack tugged on Cloud's arm again. "Dad, I'm bored."  
Cloud raised his eyebrows and shrugged one shoulder. "Nice seeing you. Come on, boys."

Arriving back at Seventh Heaven, Cloud watched Zack dragging Denzel across the room to where Tifa sat at a corner table with Marlene and Shelke. He proudly presented the bag of apples and grinned at Tifa's praising of them both. While it appeared Denzel was acting cool, Cloud could see he was also happy at Tifa's compliments as she took a bite of a dumb apple and looked rapturous at the taste. Though she'd tied her long hair up, strands already escaped to frame her face. She seemed relaxed, though Cloud recognised the accounting books sitting in front of her, which always put furrows in her brow no matter how good business was. A few customers sat at other tables, with Marlene or Shelke getting up to serve them.

At fourteen, Marlene cultivated a confident attitude similar to Tifa's. She still wore her hair in a braid with a ribbon tying it up in honour of Aerith.

After stashing the groceries, Cloud went to the table and caught the tail end of the girls conversation. _Baby names. Great_. He and Tifa broached the topic in bed the night before and wound up agreeing to disagree. He felt like he'd missed something during the conversation, but couldn't figure out why Tifa had reservations. It wasn't like when they'd decided on Zack's name. With a catch in his voice, he'd suggested it after a long period mulling it over. The relief on Tifa's face made him realise she'd been thinking something else was going on with him and he'd promised not to worry her like that again. Zack for a boy and Aerith for a girl in honour of their lost friends. It seemed fitting at the time, though Cloud was glad when the baby turned out to be a boy. His guilt over Zack's death lessened with the passing years, but he knew he never lived up to being a legacy. This way he kept his vow and only felt positive things whenever he thought of his best friend. But, when he suggested Aerith's name again this time Tifa seemed reluctant and wouldn't say why.

"What about a flower name?" Marlene suggested, as she sat back at the table beside Shelke.  
"Yes, that would be neutral and an homage," Shelke added.  
Tifa hummed and shrugged. Her gaze flicked to Zack and she said, "Maybe. I dunno. I feel like--oh, Cloud, is everything okay?" She looked at him and smiled.  
He nodded. "Yup." The look on her face spoke volumes and he didn't want to wait until later to work this out. "Guys, give us a minute?"  
Marlene and Shelke got up without argument, but Denzel needed a push to move.  
"Why? Can't I stay?" Zack looked at Tifa.  
She smiled and brushed a hand through his spiky hair. "It'll just be a minute, then we'll go take some photos, okay?"  
Zack pouted. "Promise?"  
Tifa nodded. "Uh huh." She held her pinky finger out and Zack linked it with his own. They touched thumbs and he said, "You gotta or else."  
With a sweet and low pitched laugh, Tifa encouraged Zack to follow his siblings upstairs. Her face grew less animated when she looked up at Cloud. "What did you want to talk about?"  
Cloud drew in a slow breath, then slid into the booth beside her and turned to face her. He laid his arm along the back of the seat and took one of her hands in his. "Baby names?"  
Tifa tried to smile. "It's nothing, really. I just didn't want to worry you."  
He'd figured it out. Because they'd chosen to honour Zack's memory Tifa thought they had no choice but to do the same with Aerith. "You wanna choose a different name for a girl?"  
She shook her head. "It's not that exactly. It's just there's so much. Too much for a child to carry."  
Tifa was right. Even Aerith's name had a heavy burden attached to it. With Zack there wasn't that expectation. It was only a debt to Cloud, something personal between them, that added importance to the name. It wasn't so heavy, and even though Cloud felt that weight at times, mostly it lifted his spirits every time he looked at his son and thought of the memories he carried with him. Still, it seemed Tifa wanted to honour Aerith's memory, but didn't want to burden their child with an entire planet's legacy. He laid a hand on her stomach. The pregnancy was just over halfway and Tifa still didn't have a large bump. Her physique and fitness kept her fairly slim still, though last time she'd seemed to balloon overnight during the last two months. As it was right now, she just looked a little fuller figured. Like their baby was a precious secret only they knew. "What did Marlene suggest?" He'd heard something about flowers and figured Tifa was searching for a suitable substitute name.  
After some hesitation, Tifa replied, "Lily." She laughed softly. "She remembered the one from the bar before. I said it means reunion and--" She broke off and took a deep breath. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head. "I think maybe it's a good fit. What do you think?"  
She looked at him with earnest eyes that shone with unshed tears. Cloud gathered her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Sounds good to me." It seemed Tifa was sure this baby was a girl the way she'd predicted Zack's gender. "Is this what you were trying to tell me last night?" He'd misunderstood. When Tifa broached names he'd been tired from a day of work and just wanted to hold her close and go to sleep. It was his fault he thought she meant something different to what things really were.  
"Hmm." She nodded as she wound her arms around him and hugged tight. "Sorry. I should have explained it better."  
Cloud shook his head. "It's on me. I should've thought it through." He leaned back to look her in the eye. "I'll do better."  
Tifa smiled at him and said in a teasing voice, "You're already doing pretty good."  
"Oh yeah?" He dipped his head towards hers until their lips almost met, then murmured, "Do I get a reward?" He enjoyed how she blushed in the seconds before she kissed him. 

Things were okay, and would continue that way. 


End file.
